Corelogic estimates Hurricane Irma property damage at $42.5-$65 bln

Irma, one of the most powerful Atlantic Ocean storms on record, hit several islands in the northern Caribbean before barrelling into Florida’s Gulf Coast, causing further destruction.

Insurers and reinsurers are counting the cost of Irma and also Hurricane Harvey, which lashed Texas in the last week of August causing flooding that put it on the scale of Hurricane Sandy in 2012.

Corelogic said the preliminary loss estimates included both flood and wind damage to residential and commercial property.

An estimated $13.5-$19 billion in insured loss would be caused by wind damage to properties, it said.

Residential flood loss from Hurricane Irma is expected to be between $25-$38 billion, Corelogic said, adding that the figure included storm surge, inland and flash flooding in Florida, Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina.

Of this, insured residential flood loss is estimated to be between $5-$8 billion, while commercial properties would see insured damage of between $4-$8 billion.

An estimated 80 percent of flood damage to residential properties from Hurricane Irma is not covered by any flood insurance, Corelogic said.

Risk modelling firm RMS has estimated insured losses from Harvey of $25-$35 billion, while AIR Worldwide forecast the same range for total insured losses in the United States for Irma. (bit.ly/2wPptEI) (Reporting by Noor Zainab Hussain in Bengaluru and Carolyn Cohn in London. Editing by Jane Merriman)